The Story Of Our Friendship
by Dream McKinney
Summary: Growing up in New York is tough, growing up in New York as a street rat is tougher, but growing up in New York as a street rat with friends is an adventure. And so this is where my story begins.
1. photos

Prologue  
  
We all grow older; it's an inevitable thing. Kind of like when the sun rises, no matter how hard you wish and hope and will it to stay in the sky, it has to set. If it did not set then we would never be able to see the stars, and if we did not grow older we would never really be able to live.  
  
For me getting older was an adventure. People say that an adventure isn't just living it's a journey, but to me they are wrong, to me my whole life was an adventure. Starting from that day I meet the four people who would change it forever. Of course I didn't know it then that my life was changing. I only knew that my life had went from bad to worse.  
  
Growing up in New York is tough, growing up in New York as a street rat is tougher, but growing up in New York as a street rat with friends is an adventure. And so this is where my story begins.  
  
Some say that when you grow older you forget things, where you come from, who you are and people you once new. For me this was almost true, until I was reminded. Photographs are worth a thousand words, but mine; well mine are worth a million more.  
  
Chapter One:  
  
" She sits among the pieces of broken glass and photographs  
  
reluctantly releases the Last of what was her Past"-Garth Brooks  
  
"Why do you need this again?" I asked as I rummaged through the top shelf in the closet barely able to see what was on it.  
  
"I told you great- grandma it's for photo class, the older the camera is the more unique the pictures are."  
  
"Ahh well here it is" I pulled the camera down by the string attached to the case scattering a few pieces of paper to the ground with it. As I stepped off the stool slowly I opened the case.  
  
"What are these?" My granddaughters voice interrupted my inspection of the camera.  
  
"Well let me see." I gently took the paper form her hand as I put on my glasses to examine the photos.  
  
"Well great- grandma?" The young girls tone rung with impatience as she waited.  
  
"Why these are pictures of me," I said flipping through them. "I thought I would be famous when I got older, boy did I have dreams"  
  
I stopped and smiled for a minute "dreams" I said a little softer before snapping from my trance to finish looking at the pictures I held. "You know you look a lot like me"  
  
My happy voice and blissful smile grew to a lighter expression when I reached the last picture. It was a picture of more then just myself dancing for the camera.  
  
It held five kids. Farthest to the left stood a boy who had a wide smile and wore a cowboy hat with a bandanna around his neck. Next to him stood a short Italian girl with dark brown hair and a mischievous look about her face.  
  
To the far right stood a girl whose brown hair hung around her shoulders and a sly grin on her face. Beside her was a blonde boy; with a walking stick that hung in a loop on his pants and a sling shot in his left hand.  
  
Right in the middle is where I stood. I brushed across the image in remembrance. My arms where draped around the Italian girl on one side and the blonde boy on the other. The wind must have picked up as the picture was snapped because the breeze blew my then dirty blonde hair under my chin so you were still able to a smile and my eyes. Eyes that held a dark past but still twinkled with all the hope I had.  
  
"Great-grandma, what's wrong?" My granddaughter asked glancing at the picture my hands still held. "Who are they?"  
  
I walked slowly to the living room where I found comfort residing in a chair, while my granddaughter sat across form me on the couch.  
  
Looking at her great grandmother the girl could see the wisdom she possessed. Then she could feel the lack of it in herself. She always had known that her grandma was wiser then her, but it wasn't till now that she had given it a second thought.  
  
" Great-grandma, who are they?" she asked again no patience left in her voice.  
  
I turned my eyes from the daze they held on the photo to the young girl sitting across from me. She was still so young, yet older then I was in the picture I now held to my heart.  
  
"They" I started "they were the best friends I've ever had." 


	2. thinking about you

Hope: Thank you :) did I ever send you chapter two? Well I'm posting it but if you still want to beta for me I would love it!  
  
FireFly: My Love! I've missed you so much! I left you lots of messages in your melo I thought that you didn't like me anymore cause you never answered back! :P LOVE YA!  
  
Trigger/SnitchsLins: Thank you so much! I love all your stupid stuff it makes me happy and want to write more!  
  
Tovah: Thank you! at least I know someone went to read my fic from the NML lol! I'm so glad you like it :P hope you cont. to read and review it!  
  
Kane: Thank YoU Thank YoU Thank YoU!! I update just for people like you :)  
  
Not as many people review this time as they did last time but that's okay cause you guys who did rock my world!  
  
Chapter Two:  
  
" another day is going by  
  
I'm thinking about you all the time"  
-Simple Plan  
  
"Like Aunt Rose and Uncle Sam?" she asked me  
  
I smiled as her look grew to one of confusion. Slowly she walked to my chair and sat upon the arm as she  
  
gently took the picture form my embrace.  
  
"Where was it taken grandma?"  
  
"Manhattan dear. Manhattan, New York. My home." I stood from the chair and walked over to the book case where I pulled out an old red photo album, and took it back to my seat.  
  
I pulled back the cover, which was torn and dusty to revel more black and white photo's. I gently moved my hands along the pages pointing to pictures and saying names. "There's Pinch, Boy did me and Timber have a ball messing with her hat, she always wore it like that, hanging over one eye." I looked to my granddaughter and smiled, as I flipped the page.  
  
I gently gasped and put my hand to my mouth. "And that why that's none other then Melanie Marie Throckman! But better known to her friends as Bright eyes."  
  
"You mean Grandma that you know Melanie Marie Throckman, the famous Broadway star?"  
  
I laughed a little. "Indeed I did know her" water flooded my eyes. "But it's been a long time now Andrianne, decades even." I flipped the pages a few more times as the memories came back to me. I finally stopped on the last page. There was a picture in every corner. I started with the top left one.  
  
"That" I pointed. "That is Cowboy Kelly, The Youngest and most respected cowboy in all of New York, or at least we use to imagine. Always said someday it would come true in Santa Fe, and if I had to bet I'd put my money on it." She gave me a smile as she pointed to the next picture. "And her?"  
  
I moved my eyes to the next picture and grinned. "That's my Twin" I stated.  
  
"But you don't have a twin"  
  
" Well, by birth you are right, I don't have a twin. However in my heart I do, her name was Andrianne DeMarco, or Timber, and that's who you're named after. She was a great person and you should be proud." I put my arm around her and gave her a hug. "You would make her proud."  
  
"But I thought I was named after grandma"  
  
"Oh you are dear. Who do you think your grandma was named after?" I smiled and went on.  
  
" Can't forget Firefly, no not Firefly." I pointed to the next picture. "God some days I still sit and wonder what it would be like if she was still around. She would probably be sitting across from me right now, helping me share the memories, helping me pass them on to you. I miss her so much" I wiped my eyes, trying to hide the pain and moved on to the last picture.  
  
"Now this one right down here, This Blonde boy, well that was my first love. Spot Colon the toughest and most feared newsie in New York, but we knew the man behind the power, heck we knew him before he had the power. Back then he was plain old Michael. You just couldn't leave him and Fire in the same room alone."  
  
I gently lifted the plastic to place the picture of all five us in the middle when she spoke up. "But grandma if Timber was your Twin and Spot your first love, then where are they? Why didn't you marry Spot? What happened to Firefly and why don't you know if Cowboy Kelly became famous?"  
  
I gave a slight chuckle as I closed the flap to the photo album page. "That my dear is a long story and an amazing adventure."  
  
"Will you tell me grandma?"  
  
"Of course I will dear." 


	3. back to the start

My Shout Out to the girls who keep me wanting to update! sorry this one took so long I wasn't at home for the past four days! Thankies to:  
  
Kane: HI! Thank you so much! I'm glad you like it! lol the whole thing is is that the narrarator is her great grandma I had her say it in the first chapter so that everyone would know but I didn't want to say Great-Grandma everytime she talked to her because i just didn't think that is sounded to right. so anyhow lol to explain it she named her daughter after Timber and the her grand-daughter named her daughter after her. gah I hope I didn't comfuse you even more! it kind of explains it a little in this chapter!  
  
Hope: LOL I know I wanted to make it one cause I haven't made one like that before! I hope you like this chapter!  
  
Dakki: LOL! I love spot like a fat kid loves cake too! (haha good song lol) I hope you like this chapter too! *clapps for herself* I intrigued someone! thats a first!  
  
Hope Dimonde: *jumps up and down* YAY I'm intriguing people this so rocks :P  
  
Chapter 3  
  
"Another miserable day  
  
I didn't Sleep once agian."-NHOI  
  
" It all started in 1890, I was only seven years old, Well wait a second I guess if you want to know where it all really started, it would have been a good two years before that when I was only five, That was the year that I met Jack.  
  
"I'd been in the orphanage for as long as I can remember, which thinking back now couldn't of been to long since I was only five. I had just finished with my morning chores and was sitting on the stoop out side desperate for an escape when the wagon pulled up and out hoped a tall skinny old man with a mustache and walking cane, followed by a small boy.  
  
"That was the moment that I caught my first glance of Cowboy. He was somewhat of a loner now if I recall right. I'm pretty sure that's why I started talking to him, He didn't talk to any one for the first few days when I waltzed up and introduced my self..."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"Hey ya d'ere da names Nicole, Nicole McKinney" A little five year old with curly blonde hair and bright blue eyes stated holding out her hand.  
  
"Da names Frank, or Francis Sullivan, but only when I get in ta trouble." The boy shook her hand.  
  
"So why ya here?" Nicole Brushed a few wild strands of hair out of her face with the palm of her hand.  
  
"Me fadder went to jail and dey aint got no where ta put me."  
  
"What about ya mom?"  
  
"She pasted on durning me birth, She rest with the angels now" Frank motioned his head to the sky. "What about you? huh? Why you stuck in dis joint?"  
  
Nicole took a seat at the table and rested her head on her right hand "Your guess is about as good as mine." she said with out a second thought. "Ya see I don't memeber much. Only thing I know is that I'm sure I don't like it here."  
  
"I'se only been here for three days, and I can tell you I don't blame you."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
" It was another two years before either of us left there, We talked about it all the time, but we just couldn't bring ourselves to do it. The orphanage was all I had ever known, and as odd as it may seem, even with the beatings and endless chores it was the first place Jack had felt safe in a long time."  
  
"Grandma you call him Jack, but then you tell me that his name was Frank."  
  
"That's all part of the story my dear. You see when I was seven and Jack was about eight we had finally done what we thought was impossible.we left. Jack would tell me about all the things on the out side of the only walls I had known for years, shops and restaurants and Medda's, o was I fond of Medda.  
  
"It wasn't long before Jack got caught stealing food and was taken to the refuge, I was stunned and confused and didn't know what to do, I was a child who lost her brother and couldn't find the way on her own. I sat in front of the refuge that night on the steps and cried. I was hungry and scared.  
  
"If it wasn't for Firefly and Pinch walking by when they did I would have died on those steps that night, I'm sure of it. At the time I think they were both about eight." I gave a slight sigh recalling the memory...  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Nicole hid her head in her hands while she cried as she moved her legs closer to her chest trying to block out the cold harsh wind the winter brought. She tried to hide her fear but it just grew inside of her with every second.  
  
"Pinch! look over dear.." a short girl with brown hair pointed to Nicole. "She looks sad."  
  
Pinch walked hesitantly over to the girl who sat on the refuge steps. "Are you alright?" she asked. "What happened do you need help?" The voice said before Nicole could see who was talking to her.  
  
Nicole's crys continued to grow louder. "Please it's okay" a pleading whine came from Firefly. "You can come home with us, can't she Pinch?"  
  
Pinch gave a worried look. "I don't know what Kloppman will say, but I guess we just can't leave 'er here. Come on lets go."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"They tried to help me but all that came out were loud sobs that I couldn't surpress, they coxed me into coming with them, though I was reluctant to leave Jack I feared what would have happened had I been on my own for the whole night. It would be almost a complete year before I saw Jack again, But I never forgot, Every night he was gone I cried myself to sleep like the abandoned two year olds in the orphanage did when the lights where turned out."  
  
The door bell rung and I nearly jumped out of my seat lost in another trance. I got up to answer it and smiled at my granddaughter. My own daughter, her mother had passed on a few years ago due to cancer, a pain that still resides in my chest when I think about it. The pain never goes way when you lose some one. It just seems to dull some with time.  
  
"Hello dear" I greeted her. "We weren't expecting you until tonight" I moved aside to let her in the door.  
  
"I got off early and thought, you know I don't see my grandma enough." She grinned and enveloped me in a great big hug.  
  
"Mom!" My great-granddaughter exclaimed as she walked to the hall to see what was keeping me. "We don't have to go yet do we?" she asked, "Grandma's telling me a story."  
  
"A story? It's been a long time since I heard a good story" she followed her daughter back in to the living room and I strolled along.  
  
"Now where was I?" 


End file.
